Yesterday, Santa sent me an early gift, an SFL 10x30. I was so excited by the positive reviews I read about it so I wanted to compare it right away with my old UV 10x32 HD.
I purchased my UV 10x32 HD (non-plus) one year ago from eBay, exactly at this time of the year. I always wanted to have a pair of binoculars in 10x32 format because I like the extra large view of birds compared to the x8 power. From the beginning, I really liked the view through UV. Apart from saturated colors that I really like, it has an immersive FOV. However, I always thought the brightness of it was not enough and it produced more CA than my liking. That was the main reason to order the new SFL 10x30. I thought SFL would have a bit higher resolution as well compared to my 9-year-old UV which even has some mico scratches on ocular lenses. Furthermore, I like smaller binoculars due to my birding habits. Enough background talking and now back to the comparison.
Yesterday, right after coming home I couldn't wait but did the unboxing. This is my first Zeiss binocular purchase so I was more excited. The package and accessories are nice however I don't think it is much important here. What is important for me is the image quality. Then I took out my UV and compared the size. The SFL is a little bit smaller than UV however, it is not a significant size reduction for me. The size of the UV is still small enough for me.
Yesterday evening was a bit dark and dizzying. So, I thought it was the best time to do the comparison. Then I looked through the UV first through my window. Then the SFL got its chance. Then what has happened? (Please consider the writings after that are solely my experiences with both optics. They can be highly subjective).
Nothing happened but I was utterly disappointed. The first things I noticed were the color reproduction and AFOV and then the clarity. They all were in favor of the UV. Even though UV stated its FOV as 118 m / 1000 m, it felt bigger than the FOV of SFL (120 m / 1000 m) and more immersive. Also, it felt the magnification of UV was higher than that of SFL. Maybe, they all are due to the differences between the flat field of SFL and the more conventional image of UV. Previously also I preferred the more conventional view of UV to the flat field of my NL 8x42. The colors of autumn leaves were pop through the UV and it had an extra sparkle and clarity. Unfortunately, I didn't experience anything like that with SFL. Then the comparison was so short and I just kept SFLs inside the box hoping to send them back. Please consider this experience was so subjective. I might like SFL after extensive use. However, that short comparison did not convince me to keep them with UV. Finally, I am happy with my UV 😉
However, one thing that is important to mention the SFL had superior eye comfort. I didn't experience any blackouts. It was so easy to use. Even the position of the focus wheel was fine for me. It rotated evenly and smoothly. However, the focus knob of my UV is not so bad, it is smooth and has good focus capture (the first owner of it has serviced it from Leica).
After deciding to send SFL 10x30 back I had a dilemma to ask Santa to send me which binoculars instead. I found two choices, SFL 10x40 and EL 10x42. The price difference between them was 250 euros which is not a big difference for me. It was a hard decision because I know EL is superior optically. But it is heavy and some reported glare in it. Therefore, finally, I decided on 10x40 SFL as it is lighter and has a better focus knob. Let's see what will be the experience with SFL 10x40 after a few days 😀